Truss.



M. B. SMYTH. muss.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25, I9I4.

1,182,592, Patented May 9,1916.

Inventor Attorneys MILTON B. SMYTI-I, OF HOLTON, KANSAS.

TRUSS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented lilay ll, 191%.

Application filed March 25, 1914. Serial No. 827,230.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILTON B. SMYTH, a citizen of the Un1ted States, res1d1ng at Holton, in the county of Jackson and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Truss, of which the following is a speci lication.

The device forming the subject matter of this application'is a truss, and one object of the invention is to provide a truss in which the body encircling belt, whatever its form, is weighted, so that the same will not move upwardly.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide a truss in which the body encircling band or belt comprises separable ends, united by a threaded connection, so that the belt maybe assembled readily with the back pad, and so that the position of the back pad may be shifted by rotating one of the ends of the belt upon the other.

Another object of the inventionis to improve the'construction of the pad which is disposed immediately upon the rupture.

It is within the scope of the invention to improve generally and to enhance the utility of devices of that type to which the present invention appertains.

lVith the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description procoeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed," it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a truss embodying the present improvements; Fig. 2 is an elevation depicting the rupture pad and a portion of the trussiraine; Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the rupture pad, a portion of the spring appearing in elevation; Fig. a is a section showing a modified form of rupture pad; Fig. 5 is an elevation showing the manner in which the ends of the body encircling belt are connected, part being broken away; Fig. 6 isa transverse section through a portion of the body encircling belt, the view depicting, particularly, one of the weights whichare assembled with the belt; Fig. 7 is a transverse section taken through the strap portion of the belt.

The body encircling band or belt portion of the truss may be of any desired form but mthe present instance it is shown as comprislng a sprlng 1, the forward end 2 of which is fashioned into a depending loop 3,

one end of which acts as a, lever and termi 'nates in an eye a. The distal portion 5 of the spring 1 is downwardly inclined at the back of the truss and terminates in a threaded finger 6, shown most clearly in Fig. 5 and adapted to cooperate with a threaded, tubular socket 7 provided at one end with a transverse head 8, projecting upon both sides of the socket, the socket 7 passing through a loop 9 formed in a strap 10, and the transverse head 8 on the socket being engaged within the bond 01"? the loop 9, as will be clearly understood from Fig. 5. The strap 10 terminates in a loop 11, one end of which is adjustably secured by means of a buckle 12 of any desired form, to the end that the effective length of the body encircling belt may be altered and adjusted at will. Held in the loop 11'is a hook 14: which cooperates with the eye 4;. The strap 10 may be fashioned in any desired manner. As depicted in Fig. 7, it comprises an interior body 15 which may be made of webbing or the like, the body 15 being inclosed within a tubular covering 16, which may be made of rubber, oiled silk or other moisture resisting substance.

The invention includes a lateral pad 1'? and a back pad 18. These pads 17 and 18 preferably consist, each, of inner and outer parts 19, ordinarily made of rubber, the parts 19 of the respective pads being secured to each other along their longitudinal edges, but being separated along their longitudinal centers, thereby to define in each pad, :1. pocket 20. The truss spring 1 passes through the-pocket 20 of the pad 17, as will be under stood readily from Fig. 1. The tubularelement 7 enters the pocket 20 on the back pad l8, and, ordinarily, one end of the strap 10, together with the transverse head 8 are lodged between the constituent parts of the back pad 18. It will now be understood that the effective length of the truss belt may be altered by rotating the tubular socket 7 on the finger 6. Further, by this operation, the position of the back pad 18 may be shifted circumferentially of the body.

WVhere the abdomen of the wearer is not rotund and where the hips are tapering, much difiiculty has been experienced hitherto, by reason of the fact that the body encircling belt or band, whatever may be its form, tends to slip upwardly. This undesirable feature is obviated in the present invention by applying weights to some portion of the truss. As will be manifest when the nature of the invention is better understood, the weights which serve to hold the truss down may be variously placed. They may be located at any desired point upon the body encircling band, or may constitute a part of the pad which bears immediately upon the rupture.

As shown in Fig. 1, the body encircling band or belt is provided with a plurality of weights, indicated generally by the reference character 21. Referring to Fig. 6 and comparing Fig. 6 with Fig. 1, each weight may comprise a metallic body 22, which may be a plate of lead or any other heavy substance, or which, if desired, may not take the form of a plate. The body 22 is inclosed within a flexible strip 23 which may be cloth or the like, the strip 23 terminating in upstanding tabs 2 1 which may be stitched or otherwise secured to any portion of the body encircling band; The pad is assembled with the loop .3 and is indicated generally by the reference character 25 and includes ,a back plate 26 upon which is superposed a wear plate 27 there being a clamp 28 which engages the loop 3 and is held to the wear plate 28 and the back plate 26 by means of a screw 29 or the like. It is to be observed that this screw 29 does not lie at the geometrical center of the back plate 26, and consequently, since the back plate is eccentrica-lly mounted with respect to the screw 29, the position of the rupture Y band having separable ends; a sleeve ourpad 25 may be shifted by simply rotating the rupture pad upon the screw 29. The pad 25 comprises a body portion 30, ordinarily fashioned from rubber. The body 30 of the rupture pad is thickest adjacent its crown or center, as shown at 31, and tapers, so that, as indicated at 32, it is thin-nest adjacent its periphery, the periphery of the body 30 being turned inwardly, asshown at 33, and being secured to the back plate 26. Owing to the construction above outlined, thebody 30 is relatively stiff adjacent its crown or center, and will not sink inwardly and form a depression. However, since the body 30 of the pad is thinnest adjacent its periphery, as shown at 32, the pad will be ,sufiiciently flexible.

In Fig. t of the drawings, a slightly modified form of the invention is shown, the body of the pad being indicated by the reference character 3 1, and the reference character 35 indicating the back plate. The body 34 may carry a weight 36 which may be shot or any other heavy substance. It will now be obvious that the weight 36 and the weights 21 serve to hold .the body encircling band or'belt down and prevent the same from working upwardly. It is of course obvious that this feature is of importance no matter what the form of the body encircling band or belt may be, whether the same be partially of metal and partially of strap like form, or whether the belt be fashioned wholly according to either of the constructions above pointed out. The weights 21, it is to be observed, are comparatively thin and cause no bulging of the garments of the wearer. They are therefore invisible. the fact the weights 21 are pivotally mounted, they conform to the. contour of the body of the wearer and occasion no discomfort. It .will be observed that owing to the fact that the eye carrying end 4 of the spring 1 upstands and forms a lever, no perineal strap is necessary. Where a double rupture is to be retained, the necessary modifications will readily suggest themselves to any person skilled in the art, and, if desired, two complete structures shown in Fig. 1 may be employed for retaining a double rupture. It is to be observed that the back pad is readily detachable, it being necessary merely to unscrew the finger 6 out of the socket 7. Further, as hereinbefore pointed out, the'position of the back pad may be adjusted by merely rotating the socket 7 on the finger 6. If desired, the part 3 may be provided with an eye 100 with which the hook 14 may be directly connected. Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A truss including a body encircling naled on one end and held against longitudinal movement thereon, the other end being threaded for engagement with the sleeve; and a pad in which the sleeve is housed.

2. In a truss, a belt comprising a spring the forward end of which is fashioned into a depending loop including arms, one of which arms is free, the .free arm of the spring being terminally provided with a connecting element, and a second connecting MILTON B. SMYTH.

Witnesses E. R. BAILEY, J. B. GARDINER.

Qopies .of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washingtomnc.

Further, owing to 

